Quantcast

Claremont Theater Building

Manhattanville

explore visiting   favorite add to favorites

The Claremont Theater building (currently a furniture store) is one of the oldest structures in New York City planned specifically to exhibit motion pictures, originally called “photoplays.”

Located in north Manhattanville, at the southeast corner of Broadway and 135th Street, the theater opened in November 1914. Commissioned by Arlington C. Hall and Harvey M. Hall of the Wayside Realty Company, it was designed in the neo-Renaissance style by Gaetano Ajello, an architect best-known for apartment buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The building has three distinct fronts, including a clipped corner façade where the auditorium’s entrance was originally located. The corner, consequently, received the most elaborate decorative treatment and is embellished with an elegant low relief depicting an early motion picture camera set on a tripod. In 1915 Thomas Edison produced a short film in which the theater’s entrance is prominently featured. Filmed from across Broadway, it depicts groups of men, women, and children exiting the building.

To View Edison's Film: CLICK: ''vist website'' above right, allow a minute to download, then view Edison's 1915 footage of the Claremont Theater and its Manhattanville patrons, ending with great shots of the theater building and roadway vehicles of the day!

Sites & Attractions: Historic Manhattanville

Update this organization

Your full name (required)

Your email address (required)

Your organization (if applicable)

Your phone number (required)

Internet Address:
ec2-98-80-143-34.compute-1.amazonaws.com

Changes (required)
What changes do you recommend we make to this page? Please be specific, providing correct dates, spelling, etc.


map Book a Tour favorite Donate alternate_email Email Signup

find events

October 2024
SMTWTFS
  
1
2
3
4
5
6
789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
November 2024
SMTWTFS
     12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
February 2025
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728 
March 2025
SMTWTFS
      1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031     

Features

Categories

neighborhoods

arrow_drop_up